We have friends in the Bay Area and typically go down about once a year. This time we were going down to stay for a week.
You can check out some pictures of our trip HERE in my web album. I also did a review of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in the San Francisco airport HERE.
Below is a summary of our trip:
Day 1 – Saturday, September 2 – Flight to San Francisco
Randy’s parents picked us up at 10:00am to take us to the airport for our 12:15pm flight. We left a little earlier than normal because we had to clear U.S. customs in Edmonton, so we didn’t know how busy that was going to be.
When we got to security, the TSA Pre-Chek line wasn’t open, but we were the ONLY ones in there. We still had the pain of taking out liquids, laptops and taking shoes off, but the security agents already had a bunch of bins lined up on the belt for us to plop our stuff in, so it was quite easy. And, to our complete surprise, not one of our bins had to go for a secondary check.
We then went to the Nexus machines, where it just scanned our faces and gave us a check mark to proceed to the agent (no printed receipt or anything). There was only one customs agent working, but once he was done with the previous passenger, he waved us over. He asked us where we were going and why, and then we were on our way.
There is no Maple Leaf Lounge in the U.S. departures area in Edmonton, so we just found a table to hang out at. Just as we settled in, we got a notification that our flight was delayed until 1:05pm. Randy also got a call from the Edmonton concierge (Jessica) at this time, and she explained that we were just waiting on crew arriving from Vancouver (the plane was already waiting). A little while later, Jessica came to find us in the departure area, and we had a nice little visit with her.
The crew arrived, and we departed pretty much on time. We were on a CRJ-900, and this particular one did not have any inflight entertainment. So, I ended up reading an e-book on the way down. When talking to Jessica, she had said that the tray table in my seat was inoperable. However, when I got on the plane, it worked just fine.
When looking online, the following was supposed to be the menu for our flight. I was quite excited about this because I had the cheese ravioli coming back from Venice, and it was quite tasty.
However, once on board, there were no menus handed out, and we were given an option of a hot vegetable plate and ginger chicken. I thought I would try the vegetable plate and Randy went with the chicken. The chicken dish looked rather anemic. Neither were very good. I just ended up having the bun and the dessert.
When we arrived, we went to the rental car centre. Randy had booked a car with Avis. It took us a bit to find the Avis preferred counter, and when we got there, they didn’t have any inventory for the class of car we booked (like a Toyota Corolla). So, instead we were given a Tesla! It was a bit of a learning curve on how to start the car and set the mirrors, etc.
We were originally going to spend the first couple of days with friends in Sacramento, but they came down with COVID, so we changed our plans and spent a couple of nights in Larkspur (just north of San Francisco). We also were feeling a little under the weather. We did COVID home test and it came back negative, so I think we caught some random bug on our way back from Venice.
We headed off to Larkspur, where we were staying at the Courtyard Marriott Larkspur. We had to wait a bit to check in because there was someone that wanted 2 rooms together, but they had to have queen beds and not double beds. Eventually someone else came out from the back and was able to check us in.
We got to our room and just chilled out for a while. Around 6:00pm, we decided to head out for supper. Randy found a Mexican place called Taqueria & Pupuseria El Torogoz that wasn’t far away. The one good thing is that the Tesla has built in SatNav (normally you pay extra to have SatNav on rentals), so we were able to use that to find our way.
I ordered one shrimp taco and one fish taco. Randy had a carnitas burrito. Both were good and just the right amount of food.
After supper, we went to a nearby Safeway and got some juice. We went back to the hotel, watched TV for a bit and then went to bed early.
Day 2 – Sunday, September 3 – Hanging out in Larkspur
We both slept quite well and woke up feeling better than the day before. Just across the street from the hotel is the Marin Country Mart, where there are a number of shops and restaurants. We went to the Rustic Bakery and got a pain au chocolate for me and a berry scone for Randy. We then took our pastries over to the nearby Starbucks where we got some breakfast beverages. We sat at an outdoor table and enjoyed our breakfast in the sun.
Today was a day of just catching up on sleep from our rather hectic Venice trip. After breakfast, we went back to the room and ended up having a short nap. Then we went out to the Macy’s at The Village at Corte Madera to find a bathing suit for Randy (he forgot to pack one). We also needed to charge up the Tesla, because when we got it from the rental car agency, it was only at 65% charged. After running around yesterday, it was down to 52%. According to the SatNav, there was a Tesla charging station right behind the Macy’s, so we figured we would charge it up while shopping. The SatNav even told us how many free spaces there were.
We found the charging station and there wasn’t any method to actually pay using a credit card or anything. So, we just plugged it in, and it automatically started charging. So… does this mean it was free charging? Or is the system smart enough to know to charge it back to the rental car agency? Being novices at this, we have no idea! I guess we’ll see!
We left it charging and went to Macy’s and found a bathing suit for Randy (it was even on sale!). We went back 20 minutes later and it was charged up to 75%, but Randy noticed that it was set to stop charging at 75%. Not sure why. So, he changed the setting, and we went to wander around the mall some more to charge it up some more. We wandered around a few shops, but didn’t buy anything else. When we came back it was now 92%, so that was good enough. So, we headed back to the hotel.
We lay down for yet another nap, and all this sleep was really helping. Around 5:30pm, we realized that we never had any lunch, so we figured we better go get some food. There was a Shake Shack across the road at the Marin Country Mart, so we walked over to check it out (neither of us had eaten at a Shake Shack before). I ordered a Shack Burger and Randy got an Avocado Bacon Burger and we shared some fries. We had our food outside at a table in the sun. Both burgers were tasty.
After we were finished, we went back to the hotel and just chilled for the rest of the evening. The goal was to feel much better before we headed to wine country!
Day 3 – Monday, September 4 – Heading to Napa
We woke up feeling much better than we had in the past few days. For breakfast, we went back to the Rustic Bakery and grabbed a pastry before heading to Starbucks. Today I got a cinnamon twist and Randy got a lemon poppy seed cake. Both were okay, but nothing stellar. One thing we noticed is that in this area, there are a LOT of dog owners. We were actually surprised when we were at the mall the previous day that dogs were allowed into all the stores, including the department stores. And we aren’t just talking about the wee little dogs – but dogs of all sizes. While we were looking for a bathing suit for Randy, we saw at least 3 dogs wandering by with their owners.
We reached out to our friend Desmond and agreed to meet at his house in Napa at around 12:30pm-1:00pm. So, we packed up, checked out of our hotel and then hit the road to Napa. We were going to be a little early, so we stopped off at the Napa Premium Outlet first. We found a Tesla charger and plugged the car in while we shopped.
We started off at the Coach store, where I managed to find a purse and a matching wallet. The purse was 70% off and the wallet was 65% off, and both were further discounted another 20%. What a deal!
We then went to the Lucky Brand store, where Randy was able to find a pair of jeans for $19.99. So, we got some good bargains. Once we were done shopping, or car was charged up to 100%, and then we headed to Desmond’s house.
We got our stuff settled into our room, then the 3 of us headed go V. Sattui Winery for some lunch. It was quite busy (being the Labour Day holiday), so we had to park out way out on the back 40 of the winery. Their deli wasn’t that busy, and we were able to get some food relatively quickly. While Desmond and were waiting to be served at the deli, Randy went and found us a bottle of Chardonnay. Once we paid for the food and wine, we managed to find a picnic table to have our lunch. We had bought a Caprese salad, some Brussel sprouts and some mustard prawns. It all went very well with the chardonnay.
After we were done with our lunch, we headed back towards the house. On the way, we stopped in at Miner Family Winery so that Desmond could do a pick up for his membership he has there. While we were waiting for them to put together his order, they gave us a (complimentary) splash of some wines. Desmond told us how his son Elliott had proposed to his now fiancee Nicole here a few weeks ago. The staff there even remembered the occasion when Desmond mentioned it to them. (they called them a really cute couple).
After picking up the wine, we headed back to the house. For supper, we ordered some food from Gott’s. Randy and Desmond went out to pick it up and bring it home. I had the chicken schnitzel burger, Randy had the chicken teriyaki burger and Desmond had the Ahi Poke Tacos. Desmond brought out a bottle of Miner Chardonnay to have with dinner, which was quite delicious.
After dinner, we sat around and visited for a bit, but after all the wine, I was tired and went to bed fairly early. I pretty much passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Day 4 – Tuesday, September 5 – Wine Tasting
Randy actually had to work during this trip, so he was up for an early morning meeting. I rolled out of bed around 8:30am. Desmond and I just chilled out and then later in the morning he made us some delicious scrambled eggs and bacon. Around noon, it was nice out, so Randy and I went for a quick swim in the pool. Desmond had set the temperature to 88 degrees F, and it was just the perfect temperature.
In the afternoon, Desmond and I went for a wine tasting at Cakebread Cellars. We thought that this would be just a regular stand up or sit down tasting, but it was actually a tour and tasting combined. When we arrived at the reception desk, we were given a sample of a Sauvignon Blanc and told to go in this waiting area to wait for our host. Once our host arrived, there was a group of 7 of us that she then toured around the facility, explaining the history of the winery and also the production process. And we would taste different wines in different parts of the winery. So, it was actually a really cool experience.
There were quite a few things we learned, but one interesting fact is that because oak isn’t as abundant as before, some wineries are using cement vessels to age some wines. At Cakebread, they use these cement “eggs” to age their white wines.
It was also the 50th year that Cakebread had been in business, and they were the 39th winery to get a business license in Napa (there are now more than 300 wineries in the Napa Valley). It was actually a really nice tour and I learned some new things.
After the tasting, we went back to the house and waited for Randy to finish his meetings for the day. After that, we drove into downtown Napa and had supper at Napa Noodles. This restaurant had a selection of Asian dishes from various countries. Randy had the Tokyo Ramen and I had the creamy shrimp poke. Both were really good. On the menu was something called a Japanese marble soda. So, I thought I would give it a try. Basically, the bottle that the soda comes in is based on old technology where a marble would be used to seal a carbonated drink instead of a cap. The bottle the drink came in was a Codd-neck bottle. There were instructions on the bottle on how to push the marble down into the bottle in order to open it. Quite interesting. Then you drink the soda with the marble rolling around in the upper part of the neck.
After supper, we went for a walk around downtown Napa and then headed back to the house. We sat around visiting for a bit, but I was yawning a lot and ended up just going to bed. Randy and Desmond stayed up later drinking some whisky.
Day 5 – Wednesday, September 6 – More Wine Tasting
I had a lazy morning while Randy worked. Desmond had managed to get a tasting at Rombauer Vineyards over the lunch hour, so Randy was able to come along. Before heading to the winery, we had some leftovers from Napa Noodles and from our picnic at V. Sattui for our lunch.
Once at Rombauer, we were seated at an outdoor picnic table overlooking the valley. Very nice. The cost for a tasting here was $25, which is about half of what a lot of other places charge. This included a nice water bottle and a package of breadsticks. So, pretty good value.
Rombauer is known for their buttery Chardonnay, which is popular with the ladies (a nickname for it is Cougar Juice). But they also have some other nice wines. The tasting included 6 different wines, and our host also gave us a splash of a higher-priced cabernet sauvignon and a dessert wine. They have a nice merlot, so we picked up a bottle of merlot and a bottle of chardonnay.
After we got back from the wine tasting, I was really tired for some reason, so I lay down for a nap. When I woke up, Desmond and I went for a swim in the pool while Randy finished off his meetings. Once Randy was done work, he joined us in the hot tub.
For supper, we went to Filippi’s Pizza Grotto. This was an old-school Italian restaurant. They allow you to bring your own wine (for a corkage fee), so we brought the merlot we bought at Rombauer. The waitress encouraged us to order their side dish of broccoli (which was sauteed with a LOT of garlic), and we ordered that with 2 small pizzas – a Margherita pizza and an All Meat Special. They also brought out a basket of focaccia bread as an appetizer. When they brought out the food, we realized that we had ordered way too much. The small pizza was supposed to feed 1-2 people. But, we found out when we got the bill that they had actually given us medium pizzas. The slices were massive. Desmond and I were only able to eat one slice each, and Randy only got through one and a half. So, we obviously had lots of leftovers for the next day.
We sat at the restaurant chatting for quite a while, then headed back to the house. Once back at the house, Randy and Desmond got into some whiskey, and I went to bed.
Day 6 – Thursday, September 7 – Even More Wine Tasting
This morning just sort of lazed around (while Randy worked). For lunch, we heated up the leftover pizza in the air fryer, and it actually tasted better than at the restaurant (especially the broccoli). After lunch, Desmond and I headed to Frog’s Leap Winery for a tasting. Unfortunately, Randy had meetings and wasn’t able to join us.
We arrived at the winery right on time, but when we went inside to the reception desk, it took quite a while before anyone came to help us. Eventually we were led out to a garden area with tables in the shade where the wine tasting was. Our host came by and explained to us that Frog’s Leap grows their grapes using ‘dry farming’ (i.e., they do not use irrigation, but instead grow the vines so that they have really deep roots). He also brought us a little bag of chips and goat cheese to have with our wine.
The tasting menu had 4 wines listed (sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon), but we were also given a rose at the end. This winery also used the concrete eggs for their white wines, and I must admit, they did not have a lot of flavour. Neither did the reds, to be honest. Overall, it was pretty meh. So, Randy didn’t miss much. In fact, of the 3 wine tastings we did, Randy got to attend the best one (Rombauer). So, that’s good.
After we were done tasting, we were encouraged to wander through their vegetable garden and the vineyard. There were also a number of fruit trees around and we were told we could pick some if we wanted. We didn’t pick any fruit, but we did a quick wander around the gardens before heading back to the house.
Once back at the house, Desmond and I just chilled out while we waited for Randy to finish his calls. At 6:00pm, we headed downtown to the Blue Note because we had tickets to see a band called High Noon. The way the tickets work is that you pay to sit in a certain section, but then it is first come, first serve for seats in that section. The show was at 8:00pm, but we got there early to have supper and get some good seats.
We had purchased tickets in the Premium Center Platform section – which were at the back of the venue, but were elevated. We were the first people in that section, so we got seats right at the front. Being higher up, it provided a really good view of the stage.
For our meal, Randy ordered the fried chicken and since I wasn’t hugely hungry, I just got an order of fries. Desmond got a Caesar salad. Apparently this was a new menu and a new chef. Unfortunately, all of our meals were REALLY salty, so the chef was going a little crazy with the salt in the back. We shared a bottle of champagne to go with the meal.
There was an opening act (I can’t remember his name), which was a solo act. He did original songs but they all sounded the same. The main act was much better. They also did original songs, but at the end did some cover songs. It was a very entertaining night, and we had a lot of fun.
The concert finished at 10:00pm and we went back to the house. Randy and Desmond got into the whisky again, but I just went to bed.
Day 7 – Friday, September 8 – Off to Tiburon
Woke up around 8:00am and took it easy in the morning. Spent time packing up while Randy was on some meetings. For lunch, we had the last of the pizza (it sure was a lot of pizza!). We needed to charge up the car before heading to Desmond’s place in Tiburon, so we went back to the Napa Premium Outlets and wandered around while the car charged up. I ended up buying another wallet for myself from the Kate Spade store (80% off – what a deal!).
We then headed to Tiburon, but did a slight detour to Mill Valley to see if we could find some Japanese whisky that Randy liked. We managed to find some, and then headed to Desmond’s house. We arrived there only about 10 minutes before Desmond (he had stopped at Costco to get fixings for supper).
We helped Desmond unload his car and then we started to prep food for supper. Our friends Rich and Alice were coming over, so we were going to make steaks, potatoes and Brussel sprouts. Desmond had planned to sous vide the steaks first. Apparently you can do that in an Instapot! So, we used google to find out the temperature to set it to and for how long. Then we threw the steaks into ziploc bags and threw them into a water bath in the Instapot.
Rich and Alice arrived at 5:30pm and we had some garlic sausage and cheese nibblies with some Domain Carneros sparkling rose while looking out at the view.
Then Rich and Randy took the steaks and seared them for about 5 minutes on the BBQ. They were very delicious! Randy and I are going to try this next time we have steak at home!
After dinner we sat around having various drinks. I opened the Rombauer chardonnay I bought but it didn’t taste as good as the one I remember tasting at the winery. So, I had a big glass of wine and then headed to bed (by this time the guys had brought out the whisky).
Day 8 – Saturday, September 9 – Flight back to Edmonton
Woke up about 8:00am and just took it easy for a bit. Just before 10:00am, Randy and I drove over to the shops in Corte Madera to pick up some sourdough bread from the Boudin Bakery and also top up the charge on the car before heading back to the airport. While we were waiting for the car to charge, we also stopped at Starbucks to grab some drinks.
When we got back to the car it was 97% charged, so that was good enough. We then went back to Desmond’s and had some bagels for breakfast. I spent some time catching up on the journal before we decided to head to the airport.
We said goodbye to Desmond and headed to the airport at about 1:30pm. It took us about an hour to get there. We dropped off our Tesla and headed to the departure terminal. We didn’t need to check any bags, so we headed straight to security. We were able to use the TSA Pre-Chek line, but for some reason, Randy was told that his ID didn’t match what was on his ticket. So, he had to go to the Air Canada check-in counter to get things sorted out. I was able to get through no problem.
When Randy got to the check-in counter, our favourite SFO concierge Yuki was there. She already had our boarding passes printed out and ready to go. Randy told her that he couldn’t get through the Pre-Chek lane, and Yuki assured him that he would have no problem with the printed boarding pass. And was right! Yuki told Randy that she would meet us in the Maple Leaf Lounge later.
Once Randy got through security, we went to the new Maple Leaf Lounge that opened earlier in the summer. This was a nice big lounge that had a bar and an outdoor patio. It was very similar to the international Maple Leaf Lounges in Vancouver and Toronto.
It was nice and warm on the patio, so we had some sparkling rose and some nibbles and enjoyed the last of the California sun. While we were in the lounge, two different strangers came up to compliment Randy on the shirt he was wearing. A little while later, Yuki stopped by and we had a nice chat with her. Then it was time to head to our gate. Yuki was at the gate, so we chatted with her some more before boarding the plane.
Again, the menu advertised on the Air Canada app was not the same as what we were offered. But this time, at least they handed out a menu. We both went with the chicken, which was okay.
The flight to Vancouver went by quickly. We got through customs quickly, and didn’t have to clear security again. Then we went to the Maple Leaf Lounge and hung out there until our next flight at 9:45pm. Luckily, the lounge overlooked the gate that we were departing from, so we could tell when the inbound flight arrived. The inbound flight was delayed about half an hour, but our flight still boarded on time.
On the flight to Edmonton, there was no meal – they just came around with a snack basket (I took a KitKat) and then they came around with a drink service. We arrived after midnight at Gate 72 (which is the furthest gate in the airport). This is the third time in a row that I have arrived at this gate coming home from a trip (the other two were Kelowna and Venice). We grabbed a taxi and headed home.
We had a really nice week away with our friend Desmond. Desmond told us that we could come and work from there anytime we wanted. We just might have to take him up on that sometime!